Playing career

Volchenkov was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the first round as the 21st overall selection in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. In the 2002–03 NHL season, he came to North America and played the entire season with the Senators. He is known for his fearless attitude towards other players and the puck, and is generally considered to be amongst the toughest players in the league. In his early days playing in Europe, he played goaltender. However, his coach instructed him to play defence, which may help explain why he led the NHL in blocked shots in 2006–07 by a large margin. He is consistently amongst the top shot blockers and hitters.

NHL career

After his first stint in Ottawa, he became a regular in the Senators' starting line-up. As a "stay-at-home" defenceman, he is known primarily for his blocked shots and massive hits. He also played in the 2006 Olympic Games for the Russian national ice hockey team and was considered to be among Ottawa's top two defenders, along with Chris Phillips.